Travis Hanshaw was expected to have a game and motivated challenger in front of him on Saturday night, July 14, in the first defense of his World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental Light Heavyweight title at Boyd County Community Center in Catlettsburg, Kentucky, USA. And that is exactly what Roy King was, as the 39-year-old Tennessee-based New Yorker gave the much younger Hanshaw (26) a very good fight, making the favoured champion from nearby Ashland work hard from round one through round twelve.
The first half of the bout was fought on even terms, and both men boxed well in close rounds. But, perhaps served well by his youth, Hanshaw came on strong in the second part of the fight, and deservedly emerged victorious by unanimous decision.
Judge Carlo Kellem scored the fight 115-113, while judges Kent Hendrickson and John House had it a bit wider at 117-112 and 117-111 respectively. Referee in charge of this main event, promoted by Tom Hanshaw, was Marvin Whittamore.
Travis “Rattlesnake” Hanshaw sees his professional record improve to 14-1-1 (7), and Roy King drops to 10-2-1 (5), after an unbeaten streak of nine bouts over the last three years. Despite losing, King appears to have much more to offer in the sport, and can come back strong from the experience.